The very premise of Meta's Horizon Worlds was to create a diverse and broad metaverse platform, but it never really took off, and soon faded into obscurity. Earlier this week, Meta decided that enough was enough and that the time had come to change how it approaches the platform, specifically stopping VR support for the platform and making it only a web-based and smartphone experience, a choice that actually rubbed quite a few folk the wrong way.
Many were disappointed about the news as Horizon Worlds VR was used as a platform to reach other VR projects and games, and removing VR support would therefore make these other experiences inaccessible. If you were part of the vocal community expressing discontent at Meta's choice, it may be of interest to hear that the technology titan is backtracking on its decision.
As noticed by UploadVR, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has shared an answer with fans wherein he mentions that VR support will remain in place for Horizon Worlds VR, all as part of an effort to encourage support for existing games.
"I have a little bit of good news here for you then. We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games, to support the fans who've reached out like yourself who really care about that.
"The Horizon Unity runtime games, they're not going to work on mobile, they'll just be working in VR. We're not bringing new games - most of our energy is going towards mobile and the Meta Horizon Engine there. The reason for that is because that's where most of the consumer and creator energy already was, and so we're leaning into that. But for people who already have games that they like that they're using in Horizon Worlds, will be able to download the Horizon Worlds app and use it in VR for the foreseeable future."
However, there is a catch to this decision, as VR-made games first and foremost will benefit from this backtracking, but those that have been made for desktop or mobile and have VR support may notice issues in the future. This seems to be because Meta is putting its eggs into the non-VR version of the Horizon Engine, and looking to move away from the VR element, even if it will remain available so that users can continue to take advantage of it.